I did a quick search and found no other threads on this, but Soylent is a meal replacement that was engineered by some folks a while back to replace meals etc. It is designed to provide full nutrition, fiber etc for folks to busy or 'practical' to cook. While I don't see why anyone would want to give up the magic of food all the time, there are times in my life I could see having this a bonus pre-coffee mornings, post work out, crazy 24/7 work schedule, or anxiety etc getting in the way of cooking.

I was wondering if anyone has tried it or what the ppk thinks about it? It is definitely a file under weird but practical phenomenon. Since their vegan patch update (replacing fish oil with flax) I know some vegans nearby who use it for sustenance. And it is pretty cost effective if money were a concern.

It has been vegan for quite a while, I know I looked into it last year. Then I saw a video of their 'factory' where rats were running freely and I was like yeah no. Also the descriptions of it tasting like 'wet and blended cardboard' really didn't seem like something I'd want to eat.

If you went for something like Vega or Plant Fusion, I'd think that would probably be a better option.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

Then I saw a video of their 'factory' where rats were running freely and I was like yeah no. Also the descriptions of it tasting like 'wet and blended cardboard' really didn't seem like something I'd want to eat.

Then I saw a video of their 'factory' where rats were running freely and I was like yeah no. Also the descriptions of it tasting like 'wet and blended cardboard' really didn't seem like something I'd want to eat.

Ugh that's that sorted then

tons of the others have different flavours and textures. it's a weird rabbit hold as there are _so many_ different manufacturers with their own twist on the recipe..

Soylent is kind of intriguing -- I think I would only try it for breakfast, since I enjoy eating regular food for other meals and snacks. Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive to get a small amount to try. Plus I'm not a big fan of sucralose, although I suspect it tastes kind of gross without it. I certainly wouldn't count on this for all of my nutrition if I had an alternative -- it seems probably nutritionally adequate, but there are likely some antioxidants and other beneficial compounds in veggies and other foods that you would not get from this stuff.

I looked at some of the user recipes, and they sound pretty weird to me -- uncooked, ground dry beans, for example, and ground up vitamins.

I've actually been eating/drinking soylent for a couple of months now and am about to reorder. The flavor is bland -- not offputting, and, more importantly, not tiring. I've had Vega, Shakeology, and a couple of other protein/meal shake things that are highly flavored (strawberry and chocolate mostly) -- and though they taste great, I'm pretty sure I would get sick of having the same flavor every day.

Soylent is filling -- it's got a ton of oatmeal powder in it for fiber.

I love to cook and eat (you can see my posts in the Homemade Vegan Pantry and Yogurt threads), but I've really gotten tired of cooking and cleaning on a daily basis, especially since most of the meals I make are mediocre. I am also overweight because I suck at portion control. It's only been since steadily consuming the soylent for two meals a day (sometimes three) and deliberately sticking to a low-calorie salad for dinner that any weight has come off for me (but even then, it's nothing stunning - my weight has been stuck at 150 lbs for six months now, but recently started dipping down to 146). I'm sure others will have different experiences. I make a pitcher of soylent that lasts about 1.5 - 2.0 days. One serving is about 2 cups. I really appreciate not having to mix up a shake for every meal -- it's nice to just dive into the fridge and pour out a serving.

I do strength training three days a week and go on a long hike once a week as well. On hike days, I take a light meal - a sandwich, a cookie, and indulgent potato chips, and I try to stick to soylent for breakfast and dinner. Since it's summer, I'll indulge in eating tons of watermelon, and other fruit on occasion. I'm starting a 5K beginning running program in a few weeks and am curious to see how I'll hold up. So far, I haven't noticed any adverse effects in strength or stamina.

It's definitely not for everyone, but I've found it an incredibly helpful tool in controlling my calorie intake. I have no desire to do any of the DIY open source recipes, nor have I had any desire to flavor the soylent (there are recipes to add cocoa powder, cinnamon, fruit, etc. to make flavored shakes). I really just want a simple meal.

Linalil - before I re-order, can you post a link to the video you saw of the factory? I hadn't heard of the poor sanitary conditions before. Thanks!

Then I saw a video of their 'factory' where rats were running freely and I was like yeah no. Also the descriptions of it tasting like 'wet and blended cardboard' really didn't seem like something I'd want to eat.

Ugh that's that sorted then

tons of the others have different flavours and textures. it's a weird rabbit hold as there are _so many_ different manufacturers with their own twist on the recipe..

The jakeshake one is vanilla flavoured, but even they admit that the taste takes a while to get used to. I think its a good idea but again its very expensive.

I've actually been eating/drinking soylent for a couple of months now and am about to reorder. The flavor is bland -- not offputting, and, more importantly, not tiring. I've had Vega, Shakeology, and a couple of other protein/meal shake things that are highly flavored (strawberry and chocolate mostly) -- and though they taste great, I'm pretty sure I would get sick of having the same flavor every day.

Soylent is filling -- it's got a ton of oatmeal powder in it for fiber.

I love to cook and eat (you can see my posts in the Homemade Vegan Pantry and Yogurt threads), but I've really gotten tired of cooking and cleaning on a daily basis, especially since most of the meals I make are mediocre. I am also overweight because I suck at portion control. It's only been since steadily consuming the soylent for two meals a day (sometimes three) and deliberately sticking to a low-calorie salad for dinner that any weight has come off for me (but even then, it's nothing stunning - my weight has been stuck at 150 lbs for six months now, but recently started dipping down to 146). I'm sure others will have different experiences. I make a pitcher of soylent that lasts about 1.5 - 2.0 days. One serving is about 2 cups. I really appreciate not having to mix up a shake for every meal -- it's nice to just dive into the fridge and pour out a serving.

I do strength training three days a week and go on a long hike once a week as well. On hike days, I take a light meal - a sandwich, a cookie, and indulgent potato chips, and I try to stick to soylent for breakfast and dinner. Since it's summer, I'll indulge in eating tons of watermelon, and other fruit on occasion. I'm starting a 5K beginning running program in a few weeks and am curious to see how I'll hold up. So far, I haven't noticed any adverse effects in strength or stamina.

It's definitely not for everyone, but I've found it an incredibly helpful tool in controlling my calorie intake. I have no desire to do any of the DIY open source recipes, nor have I had any desire to flavor the soylent (there are recipes to add cocoa powder, cinnamon, fruit, etc. to make flavored shakes). I really just want a simple meal.

Linalil - before I re-order, can you post a link to the video you saw of the factory? I hadn't heard of the poor sanitary conditions before. Thanks!

Here is the video, it is around minute 5:50 but you can watch the factory in general from about minute 5... I just wasn't impressed with the open containers and manual scooping beyond the rat that they show. They also specifically mention that they don't have to live up to food standards because it is a supplement and they know that cleanliness isn't a top priority.

That video is really interesting. They did a pretty good job of providing a balanced perspective. I really like the vision of the founder, but I do have concerns about the effects on long term health. There are so many variables in nutrition -- I hope that somebody comes up with good ways to test this against other foods/diets.

Well I saw a reddit thread from 3 months ago talking about their new factory but they have said they can't post pictures of it? Again, it was a year ago when I looked into it and it was a turn off especially how flippant they seemed about cleanliness in general. I mean it'd be nice to know that they have a food grade factory, but I still wouldn't buy it.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

I have problems eating enough when I'm depressed, so when we were living apart, my partner convinced me to get a case of it a few months back. I get too low energy to cook, combined with a sense of "I don't deserve nice things like food!", leading to a bad spiral; it seemed like soylent would short both of those impulses, since it's really low-effort to prepare and eat, and it's not ... nice food, it's Nutritional Slurry.

I ended up eating all of it two months ago while in a temporary not-great living situation where I didn't really have access to either a kitchen (6 people, two of whom cooked a lot and didn't clean, a very tiny apartment) or affordable groceries/take-out. It was a lot easier and cheaper to mix a pitcher of soylent than anything else.

It tastes like biscuit dough - floury, faintly sugary, kinda bland? The first time I had it, it was sorta weird (lumpy, lukewarm), but I stopped really noticing eventually. I probably substituted about 1/2 my meals that month with it, maybe 1/3rd? I ran out and forgot to order more. Anyway, I'll probably get more? I live with my partner now, and right next to like five groceries, and like 20 take-out places, but I think there's still a couple times a year that I'd like to have some.